1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to improved information-retrieval methods and systems. In particular, the present invention relates to improved information-retrieval methods and systems utilized in association with graphical user interfaces. More particularly, the present invention relates to improved methods and systems for graphically displaying toolbar icons within graphical user interface applications. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to techniques for rapidly accessing such graphically displayed toolbar icons during processing of graphical user interface applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
A graphical user interface is a type of display format which enables a user to choose commands, start programs, and see lists of files and other options by pointing to pictorial representations and lists of menu items on a computer display screen. Choices can generally be activated by either a keyboard or a pointing device, such as a mouse. A mouse is a commonly utilized pointing device, containing one or more buttons, that allows a user to interact with a product or operating environment such as a graphical user interface.
Some conventional graphical user interfaces (also referred to as a "graphic interface") provide a cursor and scroll bar for scrolling through portions of a viewable object. A viewable object can contain multiple components such as spreadsheets, text, hotlinks, pictures, sound, and video objects. However, a viewable object is not limited to these components. In many types of graphical user interfaces, a vertical or horizontal bar at the side or bottom of a graphical user interface window can be utilized in conjunction with a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, or stylus to move about in a viewable object. Scrolling permits viewing of any desired portion of a viewable object and is so named because it is the electronic equivalent of reading through a rolled (i.e., scrolled) viewable object rather than flipping through pages of a book.
So-called "toolbars" are utilized in many graphical user interface applications. Toolbars are groupings of graphically displayed buttons that perform a common set of functionality within a graphical user interface application. For example, in the case of a word processor application, the word processor may include a group of buttons within a particular toolbar that allow a user to "cut," and "paste." A "cut" function allows a user to remove a portion of a document or file, usually placing the "cut" portion in memory so that this portion can be "pasted" (i.e. inserted) elsewhere. Normally, a user can access these buttons utilizing a mouse. However, users who rely on a keyboard for their input for a particular application are at a disadvantage compared to users who rely on a mouse for input.
Keyboard users simply do not have quick and immediate access to the function provided by a particular toolbar button, unlike their mouse-user counterparts who simply have to click on the button with their mouse button. Such mouse-user counterparts also have easy access to automatic "flyover" help, a graphical user interface technique of displaying keywords which describe particular icons or graphical buttons as the user passes a mouse pointer over those particular icons or graphical buttons. Such flyovers are described in greater detail herein. Users who fall into the category of primary keyboard users include those with disabilities who may be unable to properly use a mouse, users without a mouse as an input device, or simply those users who actually prefer to use the keyboard as their only input device, so that they are not constantly moving back and forth between the keyboard and the mouse.
Currently, the only "quick" access to toolbar button functionality that such primary keyboard users have available to them includes either repetitive tabbing toward the toolbar button itself, followed by pressing "ENTER," or looking for the function somewhere under a menubar menu and using an accelerator key to invoke that function. The problems with the first method are that the application may or may not support tabbing within the toolbar, and a user can easily tab over too far and miss the targeted button.
The problem with the second method is that it involves a lengthy search of the menubar menus, provided the developer actually placed access to the function with the menus and the user can correctly translate the toolbar icon to the textual name of the function. For example, an icon representing scissors would access the same function within the menus under "cut." What is needed is a quick access to the toolbar buttons within an application's toolbar that does not require any guesswork or excessive searching on the part of primary keyboard users of such an application.
With respect to the foregoing needs, the inventors are aware of no attempts to date which have been directed toward satisfying the foregoing identified needs. Thus, it is apparent that a need exists for an apparatus and method that provides rapid and efficient access to particular toolbar functionality via a keyboard input device. It is believed the invention disclosed herein provides a solution to these heretofore unmet needs.